A nutritionist's Approach to Anxiety and Grief
- Christina C Wilson
- Jan 17, 2021
- 6 min read
“Prepare a little hot tea or broth, and it should be brought to them . . . without them being asked if they would care for it. Those who are in great distress want no food, but if it is handed to them, they will mechanically take it ' ... There was something arresting about the matter-of-fact wisdom here, the instinctive understanding of the physiological disruptions... I will not forget the instinctive wisdom of the friend who, every day for those first few weeks, brought me a quart container of scallion-and-ginger congee from Chinatown. Congee I could eat. Congee was all I could eat.”
― Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
A Nutritionist’s Approach to Anxiety and Grief | Nutrition and Well Being
I want to provide you with the best, most up to date, most useful advice combining evidence-based nutrition and compassion. I want to help women find the foods that give them joy, which make them feel good. I sincerely believe that what we eat has a significant impact on how we feel emotionally. Self-care includes sleep, exercise, physical activity, and diet and is as important as meds and therapy. Learning and trusting what your body needs is the best way to nourish your body. Once you know how to feed your body, you’re better able to feed yourself in other areas as well. Find your ideal diet and lifestyle routine so you can focus on more important things, like having adventures and living your best life!
You are better able to manage life and grief when you nourish yourself properly. Are you aware of how much of your mood is affected by food? Diet is known to be such an essential component of mental health that it has inspired an entire medical field called nutritional psychiatry. There is consistent evidence suggesting a strong association between diet and depression and anxiety. Physiological inflammation, oxidative stress, gut microbiome, and epigenetic modifications all have a say in your mental well-being.
Unhealthy eating patterns and emotional eating can be exasperated by grief and trauma. Mindful eating might not be or have been a top priority recently. You may have fallen down the rabbit hole of relying on food to soothe you, or over-eating, or binge eating. Conversely, you might be under-eating or have no appetite.
When you’re ready, we are here to help you figure out a healthy diet that will sustain you. A healthy body and brain require a way of eating that includes plenty of fats and proteins, is anti-inflammatory, and is nutrient-rich.
My hope for anyone grieving is to have meals based around whole foods with no processed foods or added sugars. Sugar creates inflammation by spiking our insulin hormone and creating fluctuating blood sugar problems while increasing the stress hormone cortisol levels—a double whammy.
Your food code will be as individual as your biochemistry and your grieving process. Sometimes it takes some time to figure out what feels best to you. What to eat doesn’t have to be complicated. Concentrate on whole foods, clean protein, good fats, low glycemic carbs, and lots of antioxidants and fiber as your blueprint. Think fish, bone broth, avocados, sweet potatoes, blueberries, dark leafy greens, and dark chocolate! Then tweak that blueprint to fit your lifestyle. We can help you with that.
A few examples of how food affects mood:
The Gut-Brain Connection
Gut health is a hot topic right now. Are you familiar with the expression "a gut feeling?" It's a real thing— our gut is called the second brain. Neurotransmitters and other chemicals produced in your gut also affect your brain and vice versa. 90% of our serotonin receptors are located in the gut? 90%! Supporting gut health helps you increase your levels of serotonin (yep, the "happy" neurotransmitter) and GABA (the neurotransmitter linked to feelings of relaxation).
So probiotics and food can help with your gut/brain health and anxiety? It might!
The gut microbiome is made up of trillions of microorganisms that live in your intestinal tract. When the delicate balance between good and bad bacteria becomes disrupted, diseases may occur, including cognitive and mood problems. Gut dysbiosis ( a fancy term for a microbial imbalance) can lead to anxiety, and re-establishing the gut microbiota can mitigate anxiety-like behavior. Put in practical terms, if you are suffering from grief, depression, or anxiety, healing your gut should provide some relief.
Suggestions for a healthier gut plus improved mood:
Ditch or minimize sugar. Processed and sugary foods can decrease the number of good bacteria in your gut. This imbalance can cause increased sugar cravings, which can damage your gut still further. Sugar and alcohol can be physically and emotionally addictive.
Eating foods packed with probiotics is one way to boost up your gut health. Eat some naturally fermented foods, like sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt, kombucha, and kimchi.
Eat more fiber. Fiber feeds the microbiome, and low-fiber diets reduce microbial diversity.
Eat foods rich in polyphenols: Polyphenols are plant compounds found in red wine, green tea, dark chocolate, olive oil, and whole grains. They stimulate healthy bacterial growth, plus they are found in delicious foods.
Eat prebiotics (asparagus, jicama, unripe bananas, and artichokes are good food sources). They are rich in fermentable sugars that feed gut bacteria.
Drink bone broth. Bone broth and other sources of collagen and glycine can repair gut integrity. A few clinical studies claim drinking all that collagen is good for your skin. It can’t hurt.
Take a probiotic supplement. Look for refrigerated brands with at least 3-5 billion CFU’s and contain the Bifidobacterium strain.
Hormones
Chronic stress affects hormones and can cause adrenal dysregulation. Managing cortisol and insulin levels can also be vastly improved by diet and lifestyle. Sugar creates inflammation by spiking our insulin hormone and creating fluctuating blood sugar problems while increasing the stress hormone cortisol levels—a double whammy. Cutting back on caffeine, sugar, and wine goes a long way. I understand that most of us don't want to give those things up. My advice is to cut back and keep a journal of how you feel.
Are you nutrient deficient?
It can be pretty easy to become deficient in crucial nutrients if you’ve been run down and not eating adequately. Peer-reviewed evidence has shown magnesium, omega-3’s, vitamins B, and D3 can help relieve anxiety and depression. While it’s always best to test and not guess (a blood lab test can let you know your levels), eating nutrient-packed food is appropriate for everyone.
I always advise striving to get your nutrients from real food and then supplement as a bonus.
Magnesium Magnesium is one of the essential minerals for optimal health, yet most people are lacking. It also helps with sleep. The best food sources for magnesium are nuts, avocados, seeds, legumes, and chocolate. You can also increase your magnesium levels by taking Epsom salt baths.
B12 Many anxiety and depressive disorders are related to low B12 levels. Adding a supplement and improving digestive health, and eating more protein from animal sources should quickly bring B12 levels. The more careful paring of plant foods can be put together for vegans.
Omega-3’s Omega-3 fatty acids are another nutrient critical for the central nervous system’s development and function. A lack is associated with low mood, cognitive decline, and poor comprehension. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil are critical for neurotransmitter function, a crucial component for emotional and physiological brain balance. Oily fish is your best bet, with flax and chia seed being reputable sources for vegetarians.
Probiotics Try to eat a few forkfuls of fermented food a day. Supplementation with bifidobacteria can alleviate the carbohydrate cravings cycle often associated with poor digestive health and low serotonin.
Vitamin D can ward off seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which can manifest depression, especially in people who don’t get regular sunlight. Wild-caught salmon, shrimp, egg yolks, cod liver oil, and mushrooms are good food sources.
GABA disturbances in GABA processing can lead to anxiety symptoms. Supplementing with GABA may help increase GABA reception, relieve anxiety, and aid in sleep, reducing anxiety.
Melatonin helps maintain circadian rhythm. Along with sleeping in a completely dark room, supplementing with 1-5mg of sublingual melatonin may improve sleep onset time.
Amino Acid supplementation can help brain chemistry imbalances— taken in small amounts, L-glutamine can help to stop cravings for sweets and alcohol.
Sources:
Mediterranean dietary pattern and depression: the PREDIMED randomized trial http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3848350/
Nutritional psychiatry: the present state of the evidence.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28942748
Nutritional Psychiatry: Where to Next? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5360575/6Use of probiotics to correct dysbiosis of normal microbiota following disease or disruptive events: a systematic review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25157183
Role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression: A randomized clinical trial https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180067
Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and the treatment of depression. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25830700
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